Next story in Death of bin Laden

Local people and news media gather round the compound and house, right, of Osama bin Laden as authorities eased the security and allowed people to approach the perimeter of the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday. A U.S. military raid early Monday morning local time ended with the death of the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and others inside the compound.

ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan — When a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive turned up at Osama bin Laden's hideaway, she remarked to the men behind the high walls about the expensive SUVs parked inside. The men took the vaccine, apparently to administer to the 23 children at the compound, and told her to go away.

The terror chief and his family kept well hidden behind thick walls in this northwestern hill town they shared with thousands of Pakistani soldiers. But glimpses of their life are emerging — along with deep skepticism that authorities didn't know they were there.

It's unclear why bin Laden chose Abbottabad as the place to stay, but at least two other top al-Qaida leaders have sheltered here. The town's bustling streets are dotted with buildings left over from British colonial days. These days it attracts tourists, but is known mostly as a garrison town.

Bin Laden found it safe enough to stay for up to six years, according to U.S. officials, a stunning length of time to remain in one place right under the noses of a U.S.-funded army which had ostensibly been trying to track him down. Most intelligence assessments believed him to be along the Afghan-Pakistan border, perhaps in a cave.

Construction of the three-story house began about seven years ago. Aside from its size, the house doesn't stand out from the others in the neighborhood, where residents tend to be very religious and jealous of their privacy. The walls are mold-stained, there are trees in the garden and the windows are hidden.

Those who live nearby said the people in bin Laden's compound rarely strayed outside. Most were unaware that foreigners — bin Laden and his family are Arabs — were living there.

Khurshid Bibi, in her 70s, said one man living in the compound had given her a lift to the market in the rain. She said her grandchildren played with the kids in the house and that the adults there gave them rabbits as a gift.

"People were skeptical in this neighborhood about this place and these guys. They used to gossip, say they were smugglers or drug dealers. People would complain that even with such a big house they didn't invite the poor or distribute charity," said Mashood Khan, a 45-year-old farmer.

Some residents said they would most often see two men who would occasionally attend a neighborhood gathering, such as a funeral. Both men were tall, fair skinned and bearded and described themselves as cousins from elsewhere in northwestern Pakistan.

Questions persisted about how authorities could not have known who was living in the compound.

Police officer Nazir Ahmad said police visit hotels daily to obtain copies of passports of foreigners staying there. He says real estate agents have to inform police if they rent out property to a foreigner.

Abbottabad police chief Mohammad Naeem said the police follow the procedures very strictly but "human error cannot be avoided."

The government said in a statement that the 23 children and nine women in the house were now "in safe hands and being looked after in accordance with law. As per policy, they will be handed over to their countries of origin."

Reporters were allowed to get as far as the walls of the compound for the first time, but the doors were sealed shut and police were in no mood to open them.

Neighbors showed off small parts of what appeared to be a U.S. helicopter that Washington said malfunctioned and was disabled by the American strike team as they retreated. A small servant's room outside the perimeter showed signs of violent entry and a brisk search, with clothes and bedding tossed to the ground. Its wall clock was on the floor, the time stuck at 2:20, when the U.S. team would have been on the ground early Monday.

Abbottabad has so far been spared the terrorist bombings that have scarred much of Pakistan over the last four years.

Like many Pakistani towns where the army has a strong presence, Abbottabad is well-manicured, and has solid infrastructure. There are street signs that tell residents to "Love Pakistan." It also is known for its good schools, many of which were originally established by Christian missionaries.

Little girls wear veils while carrying Hannah Montana backpacks to school. Many houses in the outlying areas have modern amenities, but lie along streets covered with trash. Shepherds herd their flock of sheep along dusty roads just a few hundred yards from modern banks.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Video: Stakeout in Pakistan: ‘People had their suspicions’

Closed captioning of: Stakeout in Pakistan: ‘People had their suspicions’

>>thanks. now we want to return to the scene of this raid in
pakistan
. it's north of islamabad. nbc news correspondent
stephanie
gosk is there tonight. new information about the u.s. surveillance of this compound before
special forces
finally moved in.
stephanie
, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening,
brian
. we keep on hearing surprise that
bin laden
was capable of hiding in plain sight. but was he really in plain sight? the compound was identified last august. once it was identified, it was put under 24-hour surveillance. in that time up until the actual raid itself
bin laden
was never actually seen. they acted on intelligence that fell short of that physical proof. that in effect
bin laden
had put himself in a kind of prison of his own making. so it's not entirely that surprising that when we talked to people in this community they said they were surprised that he was down the street. also keep in mind there was a $25 million bounty on his head. that is a lot of money and a lot of incentive. and there's no indication that anyone that lives in this community actually provided any help in capturing him or identifying him. finally, another thing that we keep hearing is something the
white house
continues to say, is that this town is a suburb of islamabad. we took the trip today. it takes more than three hours. it's almost 100 miles. it definitely is not a suburb. it is a kind of retreat for a lot of people that live in that city. but
bin laden
was not really on the doorstep of the capital of
pakistan
.
brian
?

>>stephanie
, i was going to say that one thing that's frustrated me about the coverage, having been to the region, is people say it was a walled compound as if it is unusual for houses there. and so often the way of marking property is either a simple
stone wall
or built-up walls. but many houses of the better houses are surrounded by walls. while these were particularly high and barbed wired.

>> reporter: yeah, they were higher than most of the walls. but we're standing next to a few houses right now that are surrounded by walls right now. that kind of privacy is not unique, as you say, in this part of the world. i think certainly the
barbed wire
, the fact that they burned their garbage instead of putting it out on the street, people here had their suspicions but no one ever really -- at least the people we've spoken to here -- jumped to the conclusion that it must be
osama bin laden
.
brian
?

>>all right.
stephanie
gosk, who again, has made her way to that compound in
pakistan
.
stephanie
, thanks for your reporting from there. we'll look for more of it.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers keep watch at Grand Central Station in New York on May 6, one day after information from Osama bin Laden's compound indicated al-Qaida considered attacking U.S. trains on the upcoming anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
(Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images)
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Muslims protest the killing of bin Laden in a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy on May 6, in London. The demonstration, which was called by radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, was in close proximity to a rival protest by the English Defense League that celebrated the death of the al-Qaida leader.
(Oli Scarff / Getty Images)
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English Defense League members gather outside the U.S. embassy in London to cheer the death of bin Laden, facing off against a rival Muslim protest condemning the killing, on May 6.
(Oli Scarff / Getty Images)
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Supporters of the Pakistani religious group Jamaat-e-Islami rally against the U.S. in Abbottabad on May 6. Hundreds took to the streets in the town where Osama bin Laden was killed, shouting "death to America."
(Anjum Naveed / AP)
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Kashmiri Muslims on Friday offer funeral prayers in absentia for Osama bin Laden in Srinagar, India. Friday is a traditional day of protest in the Muslim world, where demonstrations frequently take place after the main weekly prayers.
(Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images)
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Filipino anti-riot police and Muslims clash during a protest march in Manila, Philippines, on Friday. Hundreds marched toward the U.S. embassy to denounce the manner in which bin Laden‘s body was buried at sea.
(Francis R. Malasig / EPA)
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A Pakistani in Karachi on Thursday reads a newspaper showing the passport of Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, Osama Bin Laden's fifth wife who was shot in the leg during the raid. Amal Ahmed al-Sadah is being treated at the military hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
(Rehan Khan / EPA)
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Members of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front hold portraits of U.S. President Barack Obama and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a pro-U.S. rally as they celebrate the killing of bin Laden, at Noida in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, May 5. U.S. officials sought to keep a lid on growing scepticism over Washington's version of events around bin Laden's death, insisting the al Qaeda leader was killed during a firefight in the compound in Pakistan where he was hiding.
(Parivartan Sharma / Reuters)
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A member of the radical group Islam Defenders Front walks past posters depicting Osama bin Laden and. President Barack Obama, during prayers for the al-Qaida leader at their headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 4.
(Irwin Fedriansyah / AP)
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Pakistani seminary students gather for an anti-U.S. rally in Quetta on May 4, against the killing of Osama bin Laden. Pakistan said the world must share the blame for failing to unearth Osama bin Laden as anger swelled over how the slain leader had managed to live undisturbed near Islamabad.
(Banaras Khan / AFP - Getty Images)
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An armed police officer stands guard outside the U.S. embassy in London, May 4. Security personnel in London remain vigilant following the death of al-Qaida's Osama bin Laden.
(Matt Dunham / AP)
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People shout slogans during a protest against the U.S. military raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden in Multan, Pakistan, May 4.
(MK Chaudhry / EPA)
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Soldiers and police officers patrol in the Nice-Cote d'Azur airport, in Nice, France, May 4, as security remained vigilant following the death of Osaam bin Laden.
(Lionel Cironneau / AP)
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Activists from the Anti Terrorist Front hold placards and shout pro-U.S, President Barak Obama slogans during a demonstration in New Delhi on May 3.
(Raveendran / AFP - Getty Images)
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Supporters of the banned Islamic organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa shout anti-American slogans before a symbolic funeral prayer for Osama bin Laden in Karachi, May 3. The founder one of Pakistan's most violent Islamist militant groups has told Muslims to be heartened by the death of Osama bin Laden, as his "martyrdom" would not be in vain, a spokesman for the group said on Tuesday.
(Athar Hussain / Reuters)
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Palestinians protest against the killing of the al-Qaida leader in the Gaza Strip on May 3. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which governs Gaza, condemned the killing by U.S. forces of bin Laden and mourned him as an 'Arab holy warrior'.
(Ali Ali / EPA)
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A special issue of the magazine, Time, on the death of Osama bin Laden, will hit newsstands on Thursday, May 5. The cover show a red “X” over bin Laden’s face, and the magazine says it is the fourth cover in Time’s history to feature the red “X.” Other covers showed Adolf Hilter on May 7, 1945, Saddam Hussein on April 21, 2003, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on June 19, 2006.
(Time via AP)
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Supporters of the banned Islamic organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa embrace each other after taking part in a funeral prayer for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Karachi May 3. The founder one of Pakistan's most violent Islamist militant groups has told Muslims to be heartened by the death of Osama bin Laden, as his "martyrdom" would not be in vain, a spokesman for the group said on Tuesday.
(Athar Hussain / Reuters)
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A member of an elite Filipino police anti-terrorist unit stands guard in front of the US embassy in Manila, the Philippines on May 3.
(Francis R. Malasig / EPA)
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Members of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) hold placards in New Delhi, India on May 3 during a rally celebrating the killing of Osama bin Laden.
(Adnan Abidi / Reuters)
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Kristina Hollywood and her daughter Allyson attend a candlelight vigil for 9/11 victims at a memorial site following the death of Osama bin Laden in East Meadow, New York on May 2.
(Daniel Barry / Getty Images)
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University of New Mexico Senior Wes Henderson waves an American Flag during a rally in Albuquerque, NM, organized by a group of students on Monday to honor the troops after the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.
(Adolphe Pierre-louis / Zuma Press)
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Visitors, on Monday, look over the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., following the announcement that Osama Bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan a day earlier. Nearly 10 years after Sept. 11, 2001 construction is underway to erect a formal memorial at the crash site.
(Jeff Swensen / Getty Images)
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Danielle and Carie LeMack and Christie Coombs, who lost relatives on 9-11, pause during a ceremony to honor the victims, Monday, May 2 at the Garden of Remembrance in Boston, Mass. Families of local victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks gathered at the 9/11 memorial to reflect upon the death of Osama Bin Laden.
(Darren McCollester / Getty Images)
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U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, Sunday, May 1. Also pictured are Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
(The White House / Reuters)
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In this handout image provided by The White House, President Barack Obama shakes hands with Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the Green Room of the White House, following his statement detailing the mission against Osama bin Laden, Sunday in Washington, DC.
(The White House / Getty Images)
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Part of a damaged helicopter is seen lying near the compound where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan on Sunday, May 1.
(DOD via Reuters)
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(Left image) Middle school teacher Gary Weddle with his beard photographed minutes before he shaves off the beard at his East Wenatchee, Wash., home on Sunday, May 1, 2011. (Right image) Weddle displays his cut beard while shaving the remaining stubble. Weddle completed a vow made nearly 10 years ago not to shave until Osama bin Laden was caught or proven killed.
(Donita Weddle / The Wenatchee World, Capital Press via AP)
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People look out at Ground Zero a day after the death of Osama Bin Laden on Monday, May 2 in New York City.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
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World Trade Center construction workers listen as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speak about Osama bin Laden at the World Trade Center site in New York on Monday, May 2.
(Brendan McDermid / Reuters)
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Los Angeles Airport Police patrol the Tom Bradley terminal at Los Angeles International Aiport on May 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, Calif. Security presence has been escalated at airports, train stations and public places after the killing of Osama Bin Laden by the United States in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
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Carroll Fisher, of Auburn, Wash., a retired member of the US Air Force, waves a flag at passing cars as he stands on the "Freedom Bridge" just outside Joint Base Lewis-McChord on May 2, near Tacoma, Wash., the day after President Barack Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed.
(Ted S. Warren / AP)
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Angry supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam burn a representation of the United States during a rally to condemn the killing of Osama bin Laden in Quetta, Pakistan on Monday.
(Arshad Butt / AP)
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A screen grab from the FBI's Most Wanted website, taken May 2, shows the status of Osama bin Laden as deceased. The al-Qaida leader was killed in a U.S. raid on a mansion near the Pakistani capital Islamabad early on Monday, officials said.
(fbi.gov via Reuters)
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Joyce and Russell Mercer, parents of New York Firefighter Scott Mercer who lost his life on 9/11, sit before a news conference concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden at the law offices of Norman Siegel on Monday in New York City.
(Daniel Barry / Getty Images)
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An armored Park Police vehicle is parked at the base of the Washington Monument, May 2, in Washington, DC. The DC area and other places around the nation have stepped up security after it was announced that Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U. S. forces in Pakistan.
(Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images)
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Jim Schweizer, assistant to the director of Fort Snelling National Cemetery, straightens flowers at the grave of Thomas Burnett, May 2, in Bloomington, Minn. Burnett died on Sept, 11, 2001 along with 39 other passengers and crew when Flight 93 was hijacked and crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa. Osama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces in Pakistan on Monday, and then quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run.
(Richard Sennott / AP)
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This aerial photo, released May 2, 2011 by the Pentagon, shows a view of the compound in Abbottbad, Pakistan where a U. S. military operation was conducted and Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed on May 1.
(AFP - Getty Images)
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Ashley Gilligan reflects on the death of Osama bin Laden at NBC Studios in New York on Monday. Gilligan lost her father, Ronald Gilligan, in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
(Jonathan D. Woods / msnbc.com)
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President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the death of Osama Bin Laden prior to posthumously awarding Private First Class Anthony Kaho'ohanohano, U.S. Army, and Private First Class Henry Svehla, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry, in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 2.
(Shawn Thew / EPA)
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Andrea Masano visits the memorial to Massachusetts victims of the attacks of 9/11 in Boston, Mass. on Monday.
(Brian Snyder / Reuters)
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Women read an extra edition of a Japanese newspaper in Tokyo, May 2, reporting the death of Osama bin Laden.
(Shizuo Kambayashi / AP)
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Kristen Grazioso, 14, places balloons on a carved stone Monday in Middletown, N.J., that honors her father, who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. There are 37 stones in the garden representing those from Middletown who died in the attack.
(Mel Evans / AP)
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Tara Henwood Butzbaugh shows a photo of her family at the World Trade Center site in New York on Monday. Her brother was killed in the 9/11 attack.
(Andrew Kelly / Reuters)
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A Transportation Security Administration agent checks the luggage of a passenger on May 2 at the Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Fla. Security in airports and train stations has been increased in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden.
(Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images)
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Dionne Layne, right, hugs Mary Power in reacton to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday in New York. At left is 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, which is currently under construction.
(Mark Lennihan / AP)
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, is flanked by vice presidents Mohammad Qasim Fahim, left, and Mohammed Karim Khalili, right, as he addresses the media at the presidential palace in Kabul on Monday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that the killing of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan proved Kabul's long-standing position that the war on terror was not rooted in Afghanistan.
(Shah Marai / AFP - Getty Images)
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People shout slogans while holding placards and photographs of Osama bin Laden as they celebrate his killing in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Monday.
(Amit Dave / Reuters)
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University of Texas at Austin students celebrate the news of Osama bin Laden’s death at Cain & Abel’s bar late Sunday night.
(Erika Rich / Daily Texan via AP)
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People light candles in the streets at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center, in response to the death of Osama bin Laden on Sunday night, May 1, in New York City.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
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A driver and passengers celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden in the streets of Lawrence, Kan., on Sunday. President Barack Obama announced Sunday night, May 1, that Osama bin Laden was killed in an operation led by the United States.
(Orlin Wagner / AP)
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Crowds gather at ground zero in New York early Monday, shortly after President Obama announced that a U.S. military operation had killed Osama bin Laden in a firefight at a large mansion in Pakistan.
(Justin Lane / EPA)
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People cheer and wave flags on the "Freedom Bridge" just outside Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Sunday near Tacoma, Wash., after they heard the news of bin Laden's death.
(Ted S. Warren / AP)
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David Huber and Nicole Lozare of Arlington, Va., pay their respect to victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon Memorial early Monday morning, after President Obama announced bin Laden's death. A special forces-led operation killed the al-Qaida leader in a mansion outside Islamabad in Pakistan.
(Alex Wong / Getty Images)
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U.S. Marines of Regiment Combat Team 1 watch TV at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Monday as President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden. Obama said late Sunday U.S. time that justice had been done after the September 11, 2001, attacks, but warned that al-Qaida will still try to attack the U.S.
(Bay Ismoyo / AFP - Getty Images)
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Timeline: A timeline of Osama bin Laden's life

Considered enemy No. 1 by the U.S., the Saudi millionaire is the perpetrator behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Click on key dates to learn more about the founder of al-Qaida, an international terror network.

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